Enhanced CO2 adsorption properties with bimetallic ZnCe-MOF prepared using a microchannel reactor

Abstract

The use of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as CO₂-gas-capture materials has attracted extensive research attention. In this study, two types of MOFs—Zn-MOF and ZnCe-MOF—were synthesized utilizing the microchannel reaction method, with water being employed as the solvent. The specific surface area, pore size, and pore volume of Zn-MOF and ZnCe-MOF were 1566.4 and 15.6 m²·g⁻¹, 0.65 and 7.32 nm, as well as 1.65 and 0.03 cm³·g⁻¹, respectively. Furthermore, Ce doping not only increased the pore size of ZnCe-MOF but also its adsorption energy from −0.19 eV (Zn-MOF) to −0.53 eV (ZnCe-MOF). At 298 K, the adsorption capacities of Zn-MOF and ZnCe-MOF were 0.66 and 0.74 mmol·g⁻¹, respectively. In addition, the CO₂ adsorption behaviors of Zn-MOF and ZnCe-MOF were linear and logarithmic, respectively. Theoretical calculations show that the results of adsorption thermodynamic simulations were consistent with the experiments. Thus, the preparation of ZnCe-MOF materials using a microchannel reactor provides a new approach for the continuous preparation of MOFs.